Pallet

ABSTRACT

A pallet includes a deck and a plurality of outer supports extending downwardly from the deck. An inner support and a pair of outer supports extend downwardly from the deck between the outer supports. A plurality of keg top receiving recesses are formed in the bottoms of the inner and outer supports. The recesses partially define a center portion and a pair of outer portions therebetween in the inner support. The center portion and the pair of outer portions are the lower most surfaces of the center portion and are contained in a plane in which the lower most surfaces of the outer supports are also contained, and which plane is generally parallel to the upper surface of the deck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pallet. Pallets are often used to store andtransport goods. Pallets maintain the goods at a distance above thefloor such that they can readily be lifted and moved by a forklift.

Currently some stainless steel beer kegs are transported on hard woodpallets. Each pallet supports four kegs and resembles a 2-way stringerpallet with two additional features. The first feature is an edge boardon two sides of the top deck. The two top edge boards sit above the deckand prevent the kegs from moving side to side. When empty kegs arereturned to the brewery they are pushed off the pallet in an automatedline. For this reason top edge boards are only used on two sides.

The second feature is a pair of bottom edge boards located on the bottomof the pallet on the two edges directly below the top edge boards. Theselook similar to the top feature except they have an angled edge facingthe kegs. This angle helps to ease stacking of the pallet on top of thekegs, because in the warehouse the pallets are typically stacked sixpallets high or even eight pallets high for half kegs. Fork trucks movetwo pallets stacked together, which makes it difficult to locate themperfectly when stacking.

The bottom edge boards are the only part of the pallet in contact withthe ground either when loaded or empty. Since the bottom edge boards areperpendicular to the stringers, the top deck bears the entire load,which can be very high for the bottom of a stack of six pallets. With atop deck thickness of slightly over an inch deflection across the lengthis quite high in use even with a high quality hard wood deck.

Plastic pallets are lighter and more durable than wooden pallets. Aplastic deck formed in the above design could not withstand such loads.However, a plastic deck should also be able to stack with the existingwood pallets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pallet according to one embodiment of the present invention includes adeck and a plurality of outer supports extending downwardly from thedeck. An inner support extends downwardly from the deck between theouter supports. A plurality of keg top receiving recesses are formed inthe bottoms of the inner and outer supports. The recesses may be taperedfor easier placement onto a plurality of kegs. The recesses partiallydefine a center portion and a pair of outer portions therebetween in theinner support. The inner portion and the pair of outer portions are thelower most surfaces of the center portion and are contained in a planein which the lower most surfaces of the outer supports are alsocontained, and which plane is generally parallel to the upper surface ofthe deck.

Thus, the inner portion and the outer portions of the inner support ofthe pallet contact the floor. This improves the support provided to thedeck. The inner portion and outer portions of the inner support are alsodisposed between kegs when the pallet is stacked on another loadedpallet, thereby providing additional stability to the stack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by referenceto the following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is top plan view of the pallet.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the pallet.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the pallet.

FIG. 8 is an end elevational view of the pallet.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a plurality of the pallets of FIG. 1supporting kegs and stacked and adjacent a plurality of the palletsempty and stacked.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the arrangement of pallets andkegs of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a prior art wood pallet stacked on thepallet of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is an end view of the stacked pallets of FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A pallet 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Thepallet 10 includes a deck 12 from which extend down two outer supports14 (or stringers) and a center or inner support 16 (or stringer) betweenthe outer supports 14. Fork-receiving openings 18 are defined betweenthe outer supports 14 and the inner support 16.

The deck 12 includes a plurality of elongated protrusions 20 integrallymolded on the upper surface of the deck 12 along lateral edges of thedeck 12. In the embodiment shown, two elongated protrusions 20 areformed along each lateral edge of the deck 12, but more or fewer couldalso be used. Each elongated protrusion 20 is spaced inwardly from itsassociated lateral edge, but is still positioned vertically over theouter support 14. A plurality of openings 24 are formed through the deck12 for drainage and to form handles.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, each of the elongated protrusions 20 has abeveled outer surface 26 facing its associated lateral edge of the deck12. The beveled outer surface 26 is angled away from the lateral edgemoving away from the deck 12.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the pallet 10. A plurality of keg topreceiving recesses 30 (outlined in phantom) are formed in the bottom ofthe pallet, specifically across the bottoms of the outer supports 14 andinner support 16. Thus, a portion of each recess 30 is defined by aninwardly opening recess 30 a on the bottom of the outer supports 14 andan outwardly opening recess 30 b on the bottom of the inner support 16.Round recesses 30 are shown adapted for use with beer kegs, however,other shapes could be adapted for other containers or objects. The outersupports 14 further include elongated recesses 34 that may be contiguouswith the recesses 30 a as shown. The elongated recesses 34 arecomplementary to and aligned with the elongated protrusions 20 (FIG. 1).

The four recesses 30 b formed on the bottom of the inner support 16define outer portions 38 and an inner portion 40, which provide thelower most surfaces of the inner support 16. The lower most surfaces ofthe outer portions 38 and inner portion 40 are in a plane with the lowermost surfaces of the bottom of the outer supports 14, the plane beinggenerally parallel to the upper surface of the deck 12. The outerportions 38 are generally triangular and include concave sides 39. Theinner portion 40 is generally diamond-shaped and includes concave sides41.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3. As shown,the pallet 10 generally includes an upper deck member 50 integrallymolded as a unitary structure and a lower deck member 52 integrallymolded as a unitary structure with the supports 14, 16. The upper deckmember 50 and the lower deck member 52 may be injection molded of aplastic, such as polypropylene or HDPE.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3. As shown inFIG. 5, the upper deck member 50 includes an upper sheet 54 from which aplurality of upper ribs 56 extend downwardly. The lower deck member 52includes a lower sheet 58 from which a plurality of lower ribs 60 extendupwardly. The lower ribs 60 are connected to the upper ribs 56 byadhesive, welding or other suitable process to form box sections.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3, showing aside view of the inner support 16. As shown, the outer portions 38 andthe inner portion 40 provide the lower most surfaces of the pallet 10.The recesses 30 b are partially defined by the concave sides 39 on theouter portions 38 and the concave sides 41 on the inner portion 40.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the pallet 10 and FIG. 8 is an end view of thepallet 10.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pallet 10 of FIG. 1 loaded with kegs70 and stacked on another pallet 10 loaded with kegs 70. A plurality ofpallets 10 are also shown empty and stacked. As shown, the kegs 70 aresupported on the deck 12 between the elongated protrusions 20. The deck12 of the bottom pallet 10 is supported on the floor by the outersupports 14 and the inner support 16.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the arrangement of pallets andkegs of FIG. 9. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 10, the deck 12 issupported on the kegs 70 by the outer supports 14 and the inner support16, with the tops of the kegs 70 received in the recesses 30 a andrecesses 30 b of the outer supports 14 and inner support 16,respectively. This provides a stable stack of pallets 10 and kegs 70,with increased support for the deck 12 from the inner support 16. Theouter portions 38 and inner portion 40 of the inner support 16 extenddownward below the upper edge of the kegs 70 to further improve thestability of the stack.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a prior art wood pallet 100 stacked onthe pallet 10 of FIG. 1. FIG. 12 is an end view of the stacked pallets10, 100 of FIG. 11. Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the pallet 10 isdesigned such that it can be stacked with the prior art wood pallets100. The prior art wood pallets 100 include a plurality of deck boards112 connecting outer support boards 114 and an inner support board 116.Bottom edge boards 115 are disposed along outer lateral edges of theouter support boards 114 to create a gap for receiving a keg top. Theinner support board 116 does not extend downward from the deck boards112 as far as the bottom edge boards 115 to the top of the deck 12 ofthe bottom pallet, so that the inner support board 116 would rest on thetop of the kegs of a lower pallet. Top edge boards 120 are connectedalong top lateral edges of the pallet 100. Referring specifically toFIG. 12, the bottom edge boards 115 of the wood pallet 100 are receivedoutward of the elongated protrusions 20 of the bottom pallet 10, with aninner beveled surface 117 mating with the beveled outer surface 26 ofthe elongated protrusion 20. Thus, the improved pallet 10 can be usedalong with the prior art wood pallets 100 and can be intermixed andstacked with the prior art wood pallets 100.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. For example, the pallet 10 could alsobe injection molded as a single component. Other manufacturing methodssuch as blow molding and rotational molding could also produce a singlecomponent pallet. Twin sheet thermoforming could also be used.

1. A pallet including: a deck; a plurality of outer supports extendingdownwardly from the deck; and an inner support extending downwardly fromthe deck between the outer supports.
 2. The pallet of claim 1 wherein abottom of the inner support has a center portion and noncontiguous outerportions.
 3. The pallet of claim 2 wherein the center portion isgenerally diamond-shaped.
 4. The pallet of claim 3 wherein the centerportion has concave edges.
 5. The pallet of claim 2 wherein the outerportions are generally triangular.
 6. The pallet of claim 5 wherein theouter portions have concave edges.
 7. The pallet of claim 2 stacked on aplurality of containers, wherein the center portion is disposed betweenthe plurality of containers.
 8. The pallet of claim 2 wherein theplurality of outer supports each have a lower most surface, the lowermost surfaces of the plurality of outer supports and a lower mostsurface of the inner support are all disposed in a plane.
 9. The palletof claim 8 wherein the plane is generally parallel to an upper surfaceof the deck.
 10. The pallet of claim 1 wherein a lower surface of theplurality of outer supports and the inner support include a plurality ofcircular recesses formed therein.
 11. The pallet of claim 10 wherein anupper most surface of each of the circular recesses is generallyparallel to an upper surface of the deck.
 12. The pallet of claim 1further including a plurality of protrusions upward from an uppersurface of the deck.
 13. The pallet of claim 12 wherein the plurality ofprotrusions are formed along lateral edges of the deck.
 14. The palletof claim 13 wherein the plurality of protrusions includes more than oneprotrusion along each lateral edge of the deck.
 15. The pallet of claim13 further including a plurality of recesses on bottoms of the outersupports configured to receive the plurality of protrusions of a similarpallet on which the pallet is stacked.
 16. The pallet of claim 13wherein the plurality of protrusions are spaced inwardly from thelateral edges of the deck.
 17. The pallet of claim 16 wherein theplurality of protrusions each include a beveled outer surface, thebeveled outer surface facing a nearer one of the lateral edges nearerthe protrusion.
 18. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the deck includes anupper deck member having an upper sheet from which a plurality of upperribs extend downwardly, the deck further including a lower deck memberhaving a lower sheet from which a plurality of lower ribs extendupwardly and mate with the upper ribs to form a plurality of box beamsections in the deck.
 19. The pallet of claim 1 wherein the deckincludes an upper sheet, a lower sheet and a plurality of ribsconnecting the upper sheet to the lower sheet.
 20. A pallet including: agenerally planar deck; and an inner support extending downwardly fromthe deck generally along a centerline of the deck, wherein a bottom ofthe inner support has a center portion and a pair of outer portions. 21.The pallet of claim 20 wherein the center portion is spaced inwardlyfrom the outer portions.
 22. The pallet of claim 20 wherein the centerportion is generally diamond-shaped.
 23. The pallet of claim 22 whereinthe center portion has concave edges.
 24. The pallet of claim 23 whereinthe concave edges of the center portion partially defines a keg topreceiving recess on the bottom of the pallet.
 25. A pallet including: adeck having a plurality of protrusions protruding upward from an uppersurface of the deck, the protrusions extending along lateral edges ofthe deck; and a plurality of supports extending downwardly from thedeck.
 26. The pallet of claim 25 wherein the plurality of protrusionsincludes more than one protrusion along each lateral edge of the deck.27. The pallet of claim 25 further including a plurality of recesses onbottoms of the supports configured to receive the plurality ofprotrusions of a similar pallet on which the pallet is stacked.
 28. Thepallet of claim 27 wherein the plurality of protrusions are spacedinwardly from the lateral edges of the deck.
 29. The pallet of claim 28wherein the plurality of protrusions each include a beveled outersurface, the beveled outer surface facing a nearer one of the lateraledges nearer the protrusion.
 30. A pallet including: a deck having anupper surface; a first plurality of protrusions along a first lateraledge of the upper surface and spaced inwardly from the first lateraledge; a second plurality of protrusions along a second lateral edge ofthe upper surface and spaced inwardly from the second lateral edge; anda plurality of outer supports extending downwardly from the deck. 31.The pallet of claim 30 wherein the first plurality of protrusionsincludes more than one protrusion along the first lateral edge of thedeck.
 32. The pallet of claim 30 further including a plurality ofrecesses on bottoms of the outer supports configured to receive thefirst plurality of protrusions and second plurality of protrusions of asimilar pallet on which the pallet is stacked.
 33. The pallet of claim30 wherein the first plurality of protrusions and the second pluralityof protrusions each include a beveled outer surface
 34. The pallet ofclaim 30 wherein the deck, the first and second pluralities ofprotrusions and the outer supports are all integrally molded of plastic.35. The pallet of claim 34 and a wooden pallet stacked thereon, thewooden pallet having a wood deck and wood supports extending downwardly,the wood supports resting on the deck outwardly of the first pluralityof protrusions and the second plurality of protrusions.